One of the earliest lessons I learned about business came when I was about 12 years old. My friend Chris’ dad was going to buy a sandwich shop and he asked us how much we thought the raw materials cost for a $0.99 medium soda. Both Chris and I were newspaper carriers so we already understood a little about wholesale cost vs. retail price. I guessed 40 cents. Chris guessed 60 cents. “Nope. You’re both way off. A 99-cent soda costs about 4 cents for the syrup, cup, lid and straw” my friend’s dad told us.

He then went on to teach us about how a business’ biggest hidden cost was its cost to acquire a new customer. “Getting them in the door is the hardest part of business” he told us. Free refills make customers happy and costs almost nothing, especially in that you’ve already sunk the cost of the cup, lid and straw. If the syrup costs 1 cent, it seems like a great idea to spend a penny towards customer satisfaction.

Whenever I’m at a restaurant that charges for refills, I think of Chris’ dad and the business lesson he shared with us. You don’t realize how the life lessons prepare you for life as an entrepreneur. There’s no soda machine at blist, but we’re trying to emulate the concept in relevant ways.

Once your customer is the door, what “free refills” can you offer to boost customer satisfaction? Customer satisfaction is the new marketing, especially on the web, where your customer’s contract is up for renewal every month.